Choosing the best bank is all about finding the one that can do the most for your money — on your terms. If building your savings is a top priority, then finding accounts with high yields is key. But competing financial priorities — for example, needing a bank that offers student loans if you have children as well as investment services to protect your family’s future — can make choosing the right bank complicated and time consuming.

To help you find the ideal bank for your needs, GOBankingRates evaluated 110 banks to identify which ones offer the best values. For the Best Banks of 2018 ranking, GOBankingRates compiled a list of 82 national banks by asset size according to the FDIC and 28 online-only banks that offer products nationally. The ranking analyzed each bank on a variety of factors — including fees, account yields, financial strength, products and customer service — to determine the top 10 banks in five categories:

Category winners were announced on Jan. 9, 2018. Be sure to check out all of the finalists — click through to see the 30 Best Banks of 2018.

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Ally Bank

Ally Bank is a finalist for the Best Online Bank Award for the fourth year in a row, after winning the last three years. It’s also a finalist in the Best Savings Account and Best CD Account categories.

Ally offers a checking account that earns interest with no monthly fee, no minimum opening deposit and no minimum balance requirements. Its online savings account also boasts one of the highest yields in the GOBankingRates ranking.

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AloStar Bank of Commerce

AloStar Bank of Commerce is a perennial finalist in GOBankingRates’ annual Best Banks ranking. It offers a no-fee checking account if you meet the minimum balance requirements, a solid 1.05% APY for its regular savings account, and an even better 1.35% APY for its 12-month CD account, at the time the ranking was conducted.

Thanks to its high yields and no-fee checking account, AloStar Bank of Commerce is also a finalist in the Best Online Bank category for the second year in a row.

American Express Bank

American Express Bank is a finalist in the Best Savings Account of 2018 category. It has no minimum deposit or balance requirements. The savings account has no monthly service fee and boasts a better yield than the majority of banks assessed for the rankings.

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Bank of America

Bank of America is a finalist in the Best National Bank of 2018 category. Although its $12 monthly checking account fee is one of the highest among the top 10 national banks, Bank of America makes up for it in other ways. One of the biggest pros is its full range of financial products, including auto and mortgage loans, investment services, and insurance through its subsidiary Merrill Lynch. Additionally, Bank of America provides a financial education portal where customers can improve their knowledge of all things finance, such as the cost of college and basics like saving and budgeting.

Bank of Internet USA

Bank of Internet USA is a finalist in the Best Online Bank of 2018 category. Its Rewards Checking account offers has no fees or minimum requirements. Excellent features earned Bank of Internet USA a finalist spot for the Best Checking Account of 2018 category.

Bank5 Connect

Bank5 Connect earned a finalist spot in the ranking for offering one of the best checking accounts, providing among the highest interest rates of all checking accounts evaluated. Aside from no monthly maintenance fee, Bank5 Connect’s High-Interest Checking Account also offers a 0.76% APY — the third-highest in the ranking. Although a $10 minimum deposit is required to open the account, there’s no monthly service fee or minimum balance requirement.

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Barclays Bank Delaware

Barclays Bank Delaware is a top finalist in several categories of GOBankingRates’ Best Banks of 2018 ranking. Its online savings account was among the top accounts researched, featuring no minimum opening deposit, no monthly fee and a competitive APY. Barclays Bank Delaware also offers impressive CD accounts, which require no minimum opening deposits.

BBVA Compass Bank

BBVA Compass Bank is a finalist for Best National Bank of 2018 category. One of the bank’s best features is its 12-month CD account, which carries a 1.25% APY, making it one of the best interest rates in the Best CD Account of 2018 category.

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Capital One Bank

Capital One is a finalist for Best Checking Account of 2018. Its 360 Checking account boasts many of the perks online banks can provide, including no minimum opening deposit, no balance requirement and no monthly service fee, while still offering interest on a checking account.

Also, Capital One’s 360 Checking account has one of the lowest overdraft fees, costing only $9 against an average of $31 when comparing all checking accounts.

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CIT Bank

CIT Bank is a finalist in the Best Online Bank and Best Savings Account categories. Though its high-yield savings account requires $100 to open, CIT Bank charges no monthly service fee and offered a 1.55% APY, the highest yield in the savings account category at the time the ranking was conducted but has since risen to 1.55% APY, as of Jan. 4, 2018.

Discover Bank

Discover Bank is a finalist in the Best Online Bank and Best CD Account categories of 2018. Its Discover Online Savings Account offered a 1.15% APY at the time the ranking was conducted and has since increased to 1.30% APY as of Jan. 4, 2018. The same occurred to Discover Bank’s 12-month CD and 60-month CD, increasing from 1.35% APY and 2.25% APY, respectively, to 1.60% APY and 2.30% APY.

EverBank

EverBank offers one of the best CD accounts due to its competitive yields. At the time the ranking was conducted, 12-month CD offered a 1.62% APY, and the 60-month CD offered a 2.20% APY. As of Jan. 4, 2018, rates have since increased to 1.80% APY on the 12-month CD and 2.45% APY on the 60-month CD. Both require a minimum deposit of $5,000.

Though not a finalist in the Best Checking Account category this year, EverBank’s Yield Pledge Checking provides customers with an interest-earning checking account that also has no monthly service fee or minimum balance requirement.

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First Internet Bank

First Internet Bank is a finalist in the Best Checking Account and Best CD Account categories. Its 12-month and 60-month CD accounts have some of the best yields among the top 10 accounts. Both CDs require a minimum deposit of $1,000.

First Citizens Bank

Headquartered in Raleigh, N.C., First Citizens Bank is a contender for the Best National Bank of 2018. It offers a full range of financial services, from auto and mortgage loans to insurance and investment services, and has locations in 20 states.

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FNBO Direct

FNBO Direct is a finalist in the Best Checking Account and Best Savings Account categories. Its Online Checking account offers a 0.65% APY, one of the highest yields of checking accounts surveyed. No minimum balance or monthly service fee is required, and the minimum deposit to open an account is just $1.

At the time the ranking was conducted, FNBO Direct’s Online Savings Account offered a 1.15% APY, a minimum deposit requirement of $1, and no monthly service fee. Since the Best Banks 2018 rankings were conducted, FNBO Direct’s savings rate improved to 1.40% APY, as of Jan. 4, 2018.

iGObanking.com

iGObanking.com is a finalist for Best Checking Account of 2018. The iGOchecking account offers a 0.25% APY, requires a $1 minimum deposit and charges no monthly service fee. Its high-yield savings account wasn’t a finalist in the savings category but offers benefits such as a 1.00% APY, no monthly service fee, and no minimum deposit requirement.

Incredible Bank

Incredible Bank is a finalist in the Best Online Bank, Best Savings Account and Best Checking Account categories. The bank’s checking account requires a minimum deposit of $500 but requires no other account fees. Incredible Bank’s savings account requires a higher minimum opening deposit of $2,500, but it offers an attractive 1.21% APY, which rises to 1.55% APY with a balance of $25,000 or more.

KeyBank

KeyBank is a finalist for Best National Bank of 2018 due to its variety of quality products, national presence, and thorough accessibility, as well as its convenient Hassle-Free Checking Account, which charges no monthly service fee.

Marcus by Goldman Sachs

Marcus by Goldman Sachs is a finalist for several types of bank accounts in GOBankingRates’ Best Banks of 2018 rankings. Its online savings account is a finalist in the Best Savings Account of 2018 category because it has no monthly service fee, no minimum opening deposit and no balance requirements. Plus, its 1.20% APY at the time the ranking was conducted was among the best interest rates in that category; its rate has since risen and was 1.40% APY on Jan. 4, 2018.

My eBanc

Along with several other online banks, My eBanc was a finalist for the Best Checking Account of 2018. Some of the standout features include no monthly service fee and an excellent interest rate of 0.50% APY compared to other checking accounts.

Nationwide Bank

Nationwide Bank is one of the top banks across several categories. The online bank is a finalist for Best CD Account, offering a 1.86% APY for a 12-month CD and 2.51% APY for its 60-month CD, both among the best interest rates in the CD category.

Nationwide Bank fared well in the Best Checking Account category. Its Nationwide Member Checking charges no monthly service fee while offering one of the highest APYs of the Best Checking Accounts of 2018 finalists.

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PNC Bank

PNC Bank is one of the finalists for Best National Bank of 2018. PNC Bank provides wealth management, insurance, investment products, and retirement accounts, as well as the essentials like auto loans, mortgages, and credit cards. Additionally, PNC offers specialized student banking, workplace banking, military banking and university banking services.

Prosperity Bank

With more than 240 branch locations, Prosperity Bank applies a community banking approach on a wider scale than other banks. As a subsidiary of the publicly traded Prosperity Bancshares, Prosperity Bank provides customers with a range of products, from retail brokerage services to credit cards.

Though it doesn’t have the national presence of some other best banks, Prosperity Bank stands apart from most brick-and-mortar banks because of its savings and CD account yields. For example, the average savings account APY among brick-and-mortar banks in the ranking was a mere 0.05% APY. The Prosperity Savings account, on the other hand, offers customers 0.30% APY.

Regions Bank

Regions Bank is a finalist for Best National Bank of 2018. The brick-and-mortar bank offers consumer banking accounts, loans, wealth management, and insurance products, and it operates throughout the South and Midwest.

Sallie Mae Bank

Sallie Mae Bank is a finalist in the Best CD Account and Best Online Bank of 2018 categories. Its CD yields are among the highest of the finalists for GOBankingRates’ Best Banks ranking. The 60-month CD has a 2.35% APY and requires a $2,500 deposit.

Synchrony Bank

Synchrony Bank earned the top spot in GOBankingRates’ 10 Best Savings Accounts of 2017 ranking and is a finalist in that category again in 2018. Its high-yield savings account charges no monthly service fee. It also has one of the best interest rates among all savings accounts researched for the 2018 Best Banks rankings.

TD Bank

TD Bank scored a finalist spot in the Best National Bank of 2018 category. TD Bank offers a savings account interest rate of 0.05% APY and 0.30% APY for its 12-month CD.

TD Bank provides a range of financial products, including auto and mortgage loans, credit cards, investment services, and insurance. TD Bank’s checking account, TD Simple, requires no minimum deposit to open and no minimum balance. It does, however, charge a monthly maintenance fee of $5.99, which is lower than the fee charged by most of the other contenders in the Best National Bank of 2018 category.

TIAA Direct

TIAA Direct is a finalist in the Best Checking Account and Best CD Account of 2018 categories. TIAA Direct’s Interest Checking offers a 0.25% APY but does not charge a monthly service fee and has no minimum balance requirement. Customers can earn some of the best interest rates available on CD accounts with TIAA’s 12-month CD offering 1.62% APY and 60-month CD offering 2.20% APY at the time the study was conducted. As of Jan. 4, 2018, both rates have since increased to 1.80% APY on the 12-month CD and 2.45% APY on the five-year CD.

U.S. Bank

U.S. Bank consistently makes the list of finalists for Best National Bank year over year. It offers a full range of financial products — from loans and credit cards to insurance services and more. Although its savings account yield isn’t exceptional, U.S. Bank’s checking account fees of $6.95 for electronic statements or $8.95 for paper statements are lower than other top brick-and-mortar banks’ fees, such as those charged by Bank of America and Regions Bank.

Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo earned the coveted award for Best National Bank in GOBankingRates’ Best Banks of 2016 ranking and returned as a finalist for Best National Bank of 2017. In 2018, it comes in as a finalist in the Best National Bank category, in particular because of its range of financial products, as well as being highly accessible for both traditional customers, who prefer brick-and-mortar establishments, and less traditional ones who prefer mobile and online banking.

Methodology:To compile its list of the top 110 banks, GOBankingRates surveyed the FDIC’s list of banks sorted by asset size, excluding non-active institutions, investment banks and any institutions that require customers to use investment services to access commercial bank accounts. This list of 110 banks includes 82 brick-and-mortar banks and 28 online-only banks according to the GOBankingRates database. For brick-and-mortar financial institutions, the asset threshold was a minimum of $10 billion. No asset threshold was consulted for online-only banks.

Data for the Best Banks of 2018 was compiled from and verified against the individual institutions’ websites between Sept. 12 and Sept. 21, 2017. Rates, terms and conditions are subject to change at the discretion of the individual financial institutions.APY was based on the minimum deposit required to open the account. Some interest rates might be short-term or promotional offers only, and it is possible additional terms and conditions must be met in order to obtain the interest rates listed. Rates and availability might vary by region. Please verify terms and conditions before opening an account.

GOBankingRatesis a personal finance and consumer interest rate website owned byConsumerTrack, Inc.,an online marketing company serving top-tier banks, credit unions, and other financial services organizations. Some banks mentioned in the Best Banks of 2018 are clients of ConsumerTrack, Inc., which serves more than 100 national, local and online financial institutions. Rankings are completely objective, and no institution, client or otherwise, paid for inclusion or specific placement.

Best National Banks Category Methodology:

Methodology:To determine its Best National Brick-and-Mortar Banks category ranking, GOBankingRates examined the top 82 national banks by asset size according to the FDIC, excluding non-active institutions, investment banks and any institutions that require customers to use investment services to access commercial bank accounts. An asset threshold of a minimum of $10 billion was used for the purposes of this category.

Criteria for ranking: GOBankingRates scored the banks from most to least favorable on the following factors: (1) checking account fee, (2) savings account annual percentage yield, (3) 12-month certificate of deposit APY and (4) BauerFinancial Star Rating for overall financial strength.Banks were then scored according to whether they offered each of the following services, all of which contributed to a single weighting: (5) auto loans, (6) mortgage loans, (7) credit cards, (8) investment services and (9) insurance services. Next, banks were scored according to accessibility factors: (10) overall geographic presence, (11) mobile banking and (12) 24/7 customer service with a live person. Banks were then ranked according to their total score and then by the specific number of states they have physical branches in.

Best Online Banks Category Methodology:

Methodology: To determine its Best Online Banks ranking, GOBankingRates examined 28 online-only banks that offer products nationally according to the GOBankingRates and FDIC databases, excluding online products offered by institutions with a physical, retail banking presence. No asset threshold was consulted for online-only banks.

Criteria for ranking: GOBankingRates scored each online-only bank from most to least favorable on the following factors: (1) checking account fee, (2) savings account annual percentage yield, (3) 12-month certificate of deposit APY and (4) BauerFinancial Star Rating for overall financial strength. Banks were then scored according to whether they offered the following services, all of which contributed to a single weighting: (5) 24/7 customer service available by phone, (6) live chat service via website with a person, (7) mobile app and (8) remote check deposit. Banks were ranked according to their overall score.

Best Checking Accounts Category Methodology:

Methodology:To compile its list of the top 110 banks, GOBankingRates surveyed the FDIC’s list of banks sorted by asset size, excluding non-active institutions, investment banks and any institutions that require customers to use investment services to access commercial bank accounts. This list of 110 banks includes 82 brick-and-mortar banks and 28 online-only banks according to the GOBankingRates database. For brick-and-mortar financial institutions, the asset threshold was a minimum of $10 billion. No asset threshold was consulted for online-only banks.

Criteria for ranking: To determine its Best Checking Accounts category ranking, GOBankingRates scored each bank’s basic, personal checking account from most to least favorable on the following factors: (1) minimum deposit to open the checking account, (2) monthly maintenance fee, (3) minimum balance to avoid a fee, (4) annual percentage yield and (5) nonsufficient funds fee. Monthly maintenance fee and APY were weighted more heavily than other ranking factors, and accounts were then ranked by overall score.

Best Savings Accounts Category Methodology:

Methodology:To compile its list of the top 110 banks, GOBankingRates surveyed the FDIC’s list of banks sorted by asset size, excluding non-active institutions, investment banks and any institutions that require customers to use investment services to access commercial bank accounts. This list of 110 banks includes 82 brick-and-mortar banks and 28 online-only banks according to the GOBankingRates database. For brick-and-mortar financial institutions, the asset threshold was a minimum of $10 billion. No asset threshold was consulted for online-only banks.

Criteria for ranking: To determine its Best Savings Accounts category ranking, GOBankingRates scored each bank’s basic, personal savings accountfrom most to least favorable on the following factors: (1) minimum deposit to open the savings account, (2) monthly maintenance fee, (3) minimum balance to avoid a fee and (4) annual percentage yield. APY was weighted more heavily than other ranking factors, and accounts were then ranked by overall score.

Best CD Accounts Category Methodology:

Methodology:To compile its list of the top 110 banks, GOBankingRates surveyed the FDIC’s list of banks sorted by asset size, excluding non-active institutions, investment banks and any institutions that require customers to use investment services to access commercial bank accounts. This list of 110 banks includes 82 brick-and-mortar banks and 28 online-only banks according to the GOBankingRates database. For brick-and-mortar financial institutions, the asset threshold was a minimum of $10 billion. No asset threshold was consulted for online-only banks.

Criteria for ranking: To determine its Best CD Accounts category ranking, GOBankingRates evaluated each institution’s 12-month certificate of deposit product and five-year CD product. If the bank did not offer a 12-month or five-year CD, then the next-closest CD term length was selected for evaluation. GOBankingRates scored the CD accounts from most to least favorable on the following factors: (1) minimum deposit to open a CD, (2) annual percentage yield for a 12-month CD and (3) APY for a five-year CD. APY for a 12-month CD and APY for a five-year CD were weighted more heavily than other ranking factors, and accounts were then ranked by overall score.

Editors’ Picks were chosen by the GOBankingRates editorial board on Oct. 23, 2017. Votes were cast from the list of Best Banks of 2018 finalists in one or more of the five main Best Banks of 2018 rankings categories. Winner status in any of the main Best Banks rankings categories was not known by the editorial board at the time of Editors’ Picks category voting and was not taken into account in the voting process. Votes were cast based on standout features of the finalists, and an Editors’ Pick symbolizes that the financial institution excelled in a certain area over the other finalists.

Editorial Note: This content is not provided by American Express. Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author’s alone and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by American Express.

Nationwide, Nationwide Bank, the Nationwide N and Eagle and Nationwide is on your side are service marks of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company. Member FDIC.

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